Marie H Monfils
Professor — Ph.D., University of Lethbridge
Professor and Associate Chair for Research and Operations

Contact
- E-mail: marie.monfils@utexas.edu
- Phone: (512) 471-4139
- Office: SEA 6.104
- Office Hours: T 8:30-9:30, W 9-11
Interests
Fear conditioning, learning, memory, consolidation, extinction, reconsolidation, synaptic plasticity, and long-term potentiation
Biography
Marie Monfils received her Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, under the supervision of Bryan Kolb and Jeffrey Kleim, and her Master’s degree from the University of Calgary with Cam Teskey. She conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at New York University in Joseph LeDoux’s lab. She is currently pursuing 3 research streams: (1) examining the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in synaptic and structural plasticity associated with fear memory consolidation, (2) investigating different post-consolidation manipulations that can persistently attenuate fear memories, and (3) uncovering the adaptive purpose of fear memory reconsolidation.
Courses
PSY 418 • Statistics/Research Design
42455-42460 • Spring 2019
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM CMA 3.114
IIQRWr
PSY 394P • Curr Tpcs In Behav Neurosci
43015 • Fall 2018
Meets W 3:00PM-6:00PM SEA 4.244
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
42655-42660 • Spring 2018
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM BUR 134
IIQRWr
PSY 394P • Curr Tpcs In Behav Neurosci
43350 • Fall 2017
Meets W 3:00PM-6:00PM SEA 4.244
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43170-43175 • Spring 2017
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM BUR 134
QRWr
PSY 394P • Curr Tpcs In Behav Neurosci
43445 • Spring 2017
Meets W 3:00PM-6:00PM SEA 4.242
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
42270-42275 • Spring 2016
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM BUR 134
QRWr
PSY 394P • Curr Tpcs In Behav Neurosci
42555 • Spring 2016
Meets W 3:00PM-6:00PM SEA 4.244
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43575-43580 • Fall 2014
Meets TTH 2:00PM-3:30PM SEA 2.108
QRWr
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43960-43965 • Spring 2014
Meets TTH 2:00PM-3:30PM PMA 5.118
QRWr
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43703-43704 • Fall 2013
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM BUR 214
QRWr
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43300-43305 • Spring 2013
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM NOA 1.116
QRWr
C1
PSY 371 • Learning And Memory
43400 • Fall 2012
Meets TTH 12:30PM-2:00PM SEA 2.108
Wr
PSY 394P • Advs In Fear Learng Mechanisms
43435 • Spring 2012
Meets T 9:30AM-12:30PM SEA 4.242
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43120-43125 • Fall 2011
Meets MWF 2:00PM-3:00PM NOA 1.116
QRWr
C1
PSY 371 • Learning And Memory
43855 • Spring 2011
Meets TTH 9:30AM-11:00AM SEA 2.108
Wr
PSY 418 • Statistics And Research Design
43075-43080 • Fall 2010
Meets MWF 2:00PM-3:00PM NOA 1.116
QRWr
C1
PSY 341K • Brain Mechs Of Learn/Memory-W
43900 • Spring 2010
Meets TTH 9:30AM-11:00AM SEA 2.108
C2
PSY 341K • Brain Mechs Of Learning/Memory
44105 • Fall 2009
Meets TTH 2:00PM-3:30PM PAR 203
PSY 341K • Brain Mechs Of Learning/Memory
43152 • Spring 2009
Meets MW 3:00PM-4:30PM BUR 108
Publications
Representative Publications
See more publications on PubMed
Quirk G, Pare D, Richardson R, Herry C, Monfils MH, Schiller D, & Vicentic A (2010) Erasing fear memories with extinction training. Journal of Neuroscience.
Bruchey AK, Jones CE, & Monfils MH (2010) Fear conditioning by proxy: social transmission of fear during memory retrieval.Behavioral Brain Research.
Johansen JP, Hamanaka H, Monfils MH, Behnia R, & LeDoux JE (2010) Optical activation of lateral amygdala pyramidal cells produces associative fear learning. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
K.K. Cowansage, J.E. LeDoux, & Monfils M.H. (2010) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor: from learning to memory and synaptic consolidation. Current molecular pharmacology.
Schiller D, MH Monfils, CM Raio, DC Johnson & EA Phelps (2010) Preventing the return of fear- a non-invasive technique in humans. Nature. 463(7277):49-53
Monfils M.H., K.K. Cowansage, E. Klann & J.E. LeDoux (2009) Extinction-reconsolidation boundaries: key to persistent attenuation of fear memories. Science, EPUB ahead of print, PMID: 19342552.
Monfils MH, I Driscoll, R Vavrek, B Kolb & K Fouad (2008) FGF-2-induced functional improvement from neonatal motor cortex injury via corticospinal projections. Experimental Brain Research, 185(3):453-60.
Monfils MH, KK Cowansage & JE LeDoux (2007) BDNF: linking fear learning to memory consolidation. Molecular Pharmacology, 72(2): 235-237.
Doyere V, J Debiec, MH Monfils, GE Schafe & JE LeDoux (2007) Synapse-specific reconsolidation of distinct fear memories in the lateral amygdala. Nature Neuroscience, 10(4): 414-416.
Monfils MH, I Driscoll, NR Melvin & B Kolb (2006). Developmental expression of FGF-2 in the rat brain. Neuroscience, 141(1): 213-21.
Monfils MH, E Plautz & JA Kleim (2005) In search of the motor engram: Motor plasticity as a mechanism for encoding motor experience. (Review) The Neuroscientist, 11(5): 471-483.